News Obiaks News

No fewer than 292 persons, including health professionals who had contacts with the victims of Lassa Fever in Kano State, have been line-listed, the Kano State Commissioner for Health, Dr Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa, has announced.

Speaking during a press conference held at the Kano State Ministry of Health on Wednesday, the Commissioner said that the persons are being traced and followed up in line with the guidelines for the management of the disease. According to him, a total of three people made up of the index case and the two doctors who managed the index case had died of the disease in the state. Dr Tsanyanwa explained that on January 20, the Ministry was informed by a Disease Surveillance and Notification Officer in Taurani Local Government Area of three suspected cases of Lassa Fever, involving two medical doctors and a nurse. He noted that they quickly notified the Gaduwa Reference Centre in Abuja, which confirmed two of the cases. While offering insight into the history of the current outbreak, Tsanyawa stated that “the index case was a 28-year-old pregnant woman from Gwale Local Government Area [who] became sick two weeks after the death of her mother, who was referred from a private hospital to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. The index case was thus managed by numerous health care professionals, including the two confirmed cases.” The Commissioner said that nobody in the state, including those who had contacts with the victims, has been quarantined, noting that the signs and symptoms of the disease are not exclusive to Lassa Fever. He said the government has, however, taken several measures in the face of the outbreak, among which include the reactivation of the state Isolation Centre at Yargaya, the reactivation of the Rapid Response Team, and Contact Tracing.